


By Your Side

by aswellingstorm



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love, also alice aye, brief shout out to veronica and archie too, reggie cheryl toni val are all present here folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2018-12-24 11:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12012225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aswellingstorm/pseuds/aswellingstorm
Summary: As requested by KNITTERSREVOLTFIC on bughead-fanfic-wishlist.tumblr.com!!:A Future Canon story where Jughead and Betty are at different universities just a couple hours apart. Becuase Jughead has no Friday class he always goes to her dorm instead of her coming to him. All of his friends at school suspect she's a fake girlfriend he made up to seem cool.





	1. Chapter 1

 “So what’s _her_ name again?” Reggie asked as he, Jughead and Toni carried their plates of food to their table in the cafeteria.

The food at Boston University was _far_ less than desirable, to the point where Jughead would often find himself longing for the mystery meat served at his high school.

“You know what her name is,” Jughead responded dully, “Unless your _third_ concussion of the season did more damage than we all thought.”

“Who names their children Betty anymore?” Toni piped in, snapping a fry in half with her teeth. “I mean, that’s such an _old_ name. It’s like Gertrude.”

“Yeah,” Reggie snickered, “It’s almost like it’s _made up._ ” 

This was becoming a tired game, at least for Jughead. He was grateful for his friends; they’d all been lucky enough to meet each other during freshman orientation and they’ve stayed close ever since. He had a few classes with Toni, even a couple of gen eds with Reggie and they lived in the same residence hall. They were just starting their spring semester of freshman year and, unfortunately, his closest friends on campus were convinced now more than ever that Jughead had made his girlfriend up. 

It all started when the three of them had gone to a party together during “silly” week. Jughead was surprised to find that _girls_ liked him here, they were _attracted_ to him and he wasn’t used to that kind of attention from anyone aside from his favorite blonde. So when another freshman, Ethel, had drunkenly attempted to wrap her hands around her neck and plant a kiss on his face he was pretty shook. 

The words _Sorry I have a girlfriend_ , tumbled out of his mouth like a prayer as he gently pried the fellow freshman off of himself. He watched her face fall and tears pull at her eyes and cringed, feeling pretty _shitty_ and guilty somehow. Toni didn’t exactly help the situation, as she watched him over the rim of her red solo cup with perfectly tweezed eyebrows arched in amusement.

“That was pretty harsh,” She remarked coolly.

Jughead shook his head, fighting the urge to return back to his dorm and Skype Betty. Everything about what had just occurred felt _wrong_ , making his skin feel uncomfortable and itchy.

“Yeah,” Reggie chimed in, “You didn’t have to _lie_ to her.”

“What are you talking about dude?” Jughead scoffed, feeling incensed, “I _have_ a girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” Toni rolled her eyes, “Sure you do, bud. And _I_ have two very warm and accepting parents.”

Now, every time Jughead tried to talk about Betty, he was met with instant disbelief. Neither Reggie nor Toni would entertain him—especially after he showed them the picture of her he kept in his wallet. 

Toni nearly pissed her pants laughing at him-swearing _No, it’s not that you’re out of t_ his _girls league, Jughead, it’s just that_ whoever _is in that picture is has super model status_. 

It didn’t exactly help that Betty never came to visit him. It wasn’t her fault, not at all.  It was _all_ Alice, similar to nearly every other roadblock in their relationship. She was adamant that Betty was _not_ to leave New York City. Her classes at NYU were demanding and Alice was certain that going to visit Jughead every week would put “too much of a strain on Betty”.

It wasn’t ideal, not by any means, but Jughead was more than content to hop on a bus or a train to see her. He used the time to write without fear of Toni or Reggie or his worryingly odd roommate Dilton Doiley disrupting him. He’d _walk_ the distance, 209 miles to be exact, if that’s what it took to see her. 

They were highschool sweethearts and, as far as he was concerned, he’d already wasted enough of their time by waiting until sophomore year to ask her out. Gathering the courage, scaling the side of her house on a rickety ladder to climb through her window to pour his heart out to her was more than worth it in the end. 

After his father was imprisoned, his mother went AWOL and Jellybean was in the strict and elusive care of his grandparents, he didn’t feel like he had a family or a support system. She proved him wrong, a favorite pastime of hers, and helped him work his way out of their small town. In addition to filling out her _own_ college applications and worrying about them, she helped him fill out his as well.

She kept on him _and_ on his foster parents to make sure he had all essays, paperwork etc.…, filled out on time. Betty _fought_ for him, even when he wanted to retreat into himself-drop out of high school, run away and even struggled with… _darker_ thoughts, she was the light. She guided him to graduation, practically marched down the damn aisle next to him to grab his diploma; she was the only reason he was _in_ college in the first place.

And every Friday since they started their respective semesters, Jughead made the journey into the city to spend time with her. He’d spend most of the weekend with her and they’d do all sorts of things; explore all of the boroughs of the city, work on homework together, or just cuddle and watch whatever cinematic masterpiece Jughead had chosen that week (although his choice was _heavily_ influenced by Betty).

But _every_ Friday as Jughead packed his bags, his friends scoffed at him. They rolled his eyes and said, “If you’re going back home for the weekend, you can just _tell_ us.” In a way he was going _home_ , but it wasn’t Riverdale as they might’ve suspected.

He knew his friends wanted him to stay, go out and party with them or do whatever college students do-but his heart was elsewhere. Jughead _hoped_ one day they’d understand that, but they couldn’t even wrap their heads around the fact that he had a girlfriend at all.

“What are we talking about?” Their other friend Valerie asked as she slid onto the bench with what Jughead could only _guess_ was a salad of some sort.

“Jughead’s fake girlfriend,” Reggie answered breezily, appreciating the snicker that came from Toni.

“You have a girlfriend?” Val’s face was incredulous and incredibly doubtful.

If Jughead wasn’t so _annoyed_ , he’d be offended, “Yes.” His answer was immediate and curt.

“ _OooOooh_ ,” Val responded in a sing-song voice, “Who is she? Do I know her? Is she rushing a sorority- “ 

“Oh,” Toni laughed, “She _doesn’t_ go here.”

Val’s face fell instantly as a soft _Oh_ fell from her lips. “What?” Jughead snapped, pushing his tray of food aside. He wasn’t so hungry anymore.

“It’s just,” She cringed, “That’s, like, the oldest trick in the book.” 

“It’s not a trick!” He argued, “We’ve been dating for over two years!”

 “High school sweethearts my _ass_ ,” Reggie muttered under his breath.

 It may have started off as a joke and it may have been funny _once_. But it wasn’t a joke to Jughead and he wasn’t finding it funny _today_. They teased each other and oftentimes came up with hilariously brutal roasts for one another-but this was too far. It’d be one thing if they joked about it but still _knew_ deep down it was nothing more than a joke, but his friends genuinely didn’t believe him.

 It’s not _their_ fault per se that such disbelief made Jughead feel like they didn’t think anyone was capable of loving him, it was a childhood scar that they were twisting at without even realizing it. They made him feel like Betty was too good for him; too good to be true; too _perfect_.

“Fuck off,” he hissed, not making eye contact with any of them. He grabbed his book bag and stalked off. 

“C’mon dude! It’s just a joke,” Reggie called out. 

“Soft!” Toni echoed before whispering to the remaining group, “He’s just _so_ dramatic.”

And maybe it was true, maybe Betty _was_ too good for him. He didn’t like to think like that and spiral down a darker path of thoughts. If Betty were there or responding to any of his texts that day, she’d knock the insecurities right out of him. But when he was alone to himself, he couldn’t escape the worries that never seemed to disappear from the back of his mind.

His phone lit up and he wanted to chuck it in the fountain outside of his dorm, thinking it was Reggie or Toni with some half assed apology. Instead he was excited to see that it was Betty, a smile brightened upon his sullen face. 

Unfortunately, his stomach dropped when he read the contents of the message:

  ** _Hey you, sorry I haven’t been able to respond all day, I’ve been really busy with my interview panels. I don’t think you’ll be able to come down this weekend, my mom is visiting._**

-

He was fine with it. It was disappointing, sure, but after skyping with Betty, he’d made his peace with it. After all, Betty’s mother _was_ paying for her college and she was entitled to spend time with her own daughter. Plus, they both had an overlapping four-day weekend the following week so they could make up for the lost time.

Begrudgingly, he decided it might be for the best to spend time with his friends this weekend anyway. Jughead walked around the corner of his dorm hallway, approaching the lounge on their floor where he assumed they were all hanging out. He paused when he heard them talking, putting his questionable morals to the test.

“Why does he care if we think he has a girlfriend?” Toni asked, “It doesn’t make him more or less cool.” 

“Jughead Jones doesn’t _care_ about being cool,” A high, icy voice stated. He recognized the voice as Cheryl’s and she already sounded bored with the conversation at hand.

“Then why would he lie about having a girlfriend?” Val’s quizzical voice met his listening ears.

“He’s not lying, _duh_ ,” Cheryl stated and for the first time, Jughead felt a bit of appreciation for her.

“I kinda wish he was,” Reggie admitted softly, throwing a ball up against the ceiling, “Lying, I mean.”

“Why?” Toni’s confused tone cut in.

“Being in a relationship is _tough_ ,” he paused, “it’s not gonna last.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those high school flings don’t last past the first year,” he snorted, “You’ve seen all of the freshman girls go harder than _anyone_ at the frat parties after they get dumped by their high school boyfriends. It’s not gonna last-whatever he has with _Betty_.” 

Jughead felt his heart sink and his breath quicken. He supposed Reggie might have a point.

“That’s, uh, kinda harsh,” Val remarked.

“It’s true,” Cheryl agreed, “This isn’t some shitty, poorly written Lifetime movie. High school sweethearts don’t make it past college. Even if they do end up marrying each other, they just grow to resent each other.”

“Yeah, it’s ‘cause they wish they had sex with more than one person in their lives,” Reggie stated dumbly.

“And that’s where we stop agreeing,” Cheryl sighed.

Jughead stood frozen in his tracks as his friends changed the subject. He wanted to walk through the door and say something-maybe insult Reggie for being unable to find _one_ person willing to have sex with him—or poke fun at Cheryl for her creepy amount of love for her brother—or anything. But he couldn’t. Stupidly, he stood there as he felt the blood pound in his head and their voices slowly drone out.

“Where is Jughead anyway?” Toni wondered.

“Probably trying to avoid us,” Reggie scoffed, “Lame ass.”

“I’ll call him,” she offered, pulling out her phone.

Jughead heard her and knew what was coming. He should have walked away or put his phone on silent, but he let it blare out the generic tri-tone ring, deciding to walk into the lounge. He was met with surprised stares and and uncomfortable shift in the room. 

“Jughead?” Val was the first to speak, “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” He replied, hating himself for the how soft he sounded.

There was an awkward silence that befell the group. They all looked guilty, or at least a little awkward. Cheryl had even stopped filing her nails and opted for simply staring at the floor. Jughead found himself glaring at Reggie-he had been the one to say the truly offensive things and dig at the insecurities of his relationship.

“Listen man,” Reggie cleared his throat uncomfortably and placing the ball on the table, “I-”

“Shove it up your ass dude,” Jughead spat out, using his arm to thwack the ball in a manner that was both angry and petty.

It smacked Reggie square in the face, providing Jughead with the slightest bit of satisfaction as he stormed out.

\--

When Friday reared its ugly head, Jughead found he had been dreading it more than a typical Monday. He hadn’t spoken to any of his friends since #BallGate2017 and was actively avoiding them. 

Ashamedly, he had also been avoiding Betty. It started out with one-word responses to her texts to him just deciding to stop talking to her altogether. It wasn’t an easy decision and it wasn’t one he prided himself on-it was a rather cowardly thing to do. 

But he couldn’t think of one high school sweetheart relationship that had _actually_ worked out. His friends, Archie and Veronica, were still together but they were the same age as he and Betty. And maybe Alice was right, dating Jughead would only serve to distract Betty from her studies. 

So he determined that maybe _just_ maybe, if he could slowly pull himself out of Betty’s life he’d be sparing her some pain in the long run. Since hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, he found that dodging her texts and calls was the right idea.

It still hurt, like a _bitch_. If he was being honest. Betty probably wouldn’t even notice at first, she was so caught up in her extracurricular. Plus, she had her hands full with her mother visiting this weekend.

His heart clenched as he stalked across the quad on the cloudy day. He had his headphones in and his hands shoved purposely in his pockets. His eyes were fixated on the floor and the familiar chip was back on his shoulder.

Toni and Reggie saw him from across the courtyard, running up to him with Val and Cheryl in tow. They tried to talk over his music, take his head phones out, anything-but he still continued to ignored them. It wasn’t until he saw their faces with surprise and a bit of confusion that he paid any attention to them. They began to point in the direction he was headed and he allowed himself to follow their gaze-leaving him to hang his mouth open in shock. 

Because, there, just across the way and underneath the only patch of sunlight on the quad was Betty. _His_ Betty. And she seemed…angry?

“Betts?” He called out, confused.  He pulled his headphones down. What was she doing here? How did she get here? Where was Ali-

“Jughead Jones,” She marched over to him. 

“What are you doing here?” He wondered aloud, unable to stop the way his heart swelled.

“You can’t just stop,” She shook her head, voice rough. “You can’t just-just stop talking to me. Or push me _away_ again and expect me _not_ to show up.”

He was surprised to see tears welling in her eyes, “Betts-I, I’m-”

 “Because, because-” She continued, looking away briefly to collect herself, “ _You know_ I’m gonna fight for you. I’m always going to fight for you, even when you don’t want me to I’m not gonna let you disappear on me. So please, just…don’t, shove me out. Not again.”

Reggie, Toni, Cheryl and Val looked away. It was an intimate moment between the pair and even hearing it from a distance felt like an invasion of privacy.

If Jughead had been paying attention to his friends, he might’ve noticed the look of admiration in their eyes. Betty Cooper was _real,_ as was the rest of their relationship and it wasn’t going to be so easily broken. Because Betty was strong, determined and transported herself over two hundred miles _just_ because her boyfriend hadn’t texted her back; she was the living, breathing form of dedication. The one act made it obvious to his four friends that she was the perfect complement to him; she knew when to give him his space but would never let him retreat into himself. And Jughead looked at her like she could create and design galaxies, entire universes even, with a simple snap of her fingers

Voice thick with emotion, Jughead said, “I won’t. I promise.”

And with those words, Betty tenderly placed her soft, scarred hands on either side of his face. She leaned in and met his lips with hers-longing for the instant connection and spark she felt during their kiss. His hand found its rest on the back of her neck as he kissed her back gently, deep enough without risking the tenderness of it. After what felt like a blissful eternity, they pulled away from each other, gently resting their foreheads together.

“Wait,” his spoke, concerned, “What about your mother?”

She laughed softly, “Wow,” looking up at him beneath her lashes with the green eyes that had a hold on his very soul, “That’s what you’re thinking about in the middle of our moment?” 


	2. where it wasn't supposed to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when a drunken night goes terribly wrong, jughead finds himself cut out of betty's life. will he fight for her as she always does for him, or will he accept defeat and let their relationship fall to the wayside?

Jughead Jones went from having friends who went from blatantly refusing to believe in the existence of his girlfriend, Betty Cooper, to pioneering the Betty Cooper fanclub.

Reggie, Toni, Val and, hell, even Cheryl followed her on every social media. They commented on every post, every picture, and even start streaks with her on snapchat. Reggie would send her photos of Jughead with ridiculous filters that never failed to make her giggle. Toni would attempt to have an actual conversation with Betty through snaps, Val would send random photos of Jughead throughout the day (opting for a poorly-drawn stick figure of him on days they didn’t cross paths) and Cheryl would just send Betty selfies that were nothing less than iconic. 

“I’m beginning to think they like you more than me,” he mumbled into her ear on Sunday morning, right before departing her dorm in NYU. 

She just laughed, light and airy as always, in response. She found it incredibly endearing, how invested Jughead’s friends were in his life-his relationship, _her_. It made her feel special, like she could be apart of the action of Jughead’s life without _actually_ being there. It also provided her a great comfort to know that Jughead had such amazing friends and was enjoying his college experience. 

So yes, Jughead’s little gang fawning over Betty Cooper and appreciating her just as much as he did was a great thing. An amazing thing, even. Until the day it wasn’t. 

It’d been a rough two weeks. The first week, Betty had been manic-stressing over her mid term projects and exams. It was one of _those_ times where Jughead wished he could be there for her, in the flesh, helping her anyway he possibly could. He couldn’t travel to the city and visit her that week either because she, ever the perfectionist, was still working on her midterms. 

Jughead was disappointed, sure, but he didn’t blame her or resent her for it, not in the slightest. He bristled at the mere thought. Academics were both of their first priority-and it was his job to support her during these times of high stress. But there was only so much he could do from behind a computer screen, desparately hoping for her skype icon to become active. 

The following week wasn’t much better either. It was Jughead’s turn to study for midterms all week, and he was stressing himself out in a wild chase to pursue the 4.0 goal. To make matters worse, Betty had received a “C” on one of her midterms with only one comment at the very bottom of the page that read, “Too dry, where’s the passion?”. It left her questioning her major (journalism) and full of self doubt.

Alice Cooper didn’t help the situation, she was more than angry-she was livid, outraged, pissed beyond all hell. This didn’t make Betty feel much better about herself, the way her mother went off on how _maybe_ Betty needed to pick a more practical major because _maybe_ journalism wasn’t for everyone. _Maybe_ if Betty focused on herself more and stopped letting herself get distracted by certain beanie-wearing BU student she would’ve gotten an A. _Maybe_ Betty was on the same, dead-end track as her older sister, Polly.

And now that the weekend was finally rolling around, Betty told Jughead once again that he couldn’t come visit. She was booked the entire weekend with extraciriculars, she was in the running to be president of the English honor society at her school, Sigma Tau Delta. Jughead scoffed at the name, abbreviated to STD, and wondered how English majors, of all majors in the freakin’ world,  neglected to notice the double entendre.

So that’s how, on a Friday night, Jughead let himself be talked into going out to some frat party with his friends. It was at the Alpha Sigma Sigma house, appropriate in regards to the kind of frat guys they let in.

He wasn’t much of a drinker thanks to his father, but he learned a few powerful lessons that night. The first one being- one drink can quickly turn into two, which can quickly turn into three and snowball downwards until you wake up the next morning feeling like absolute horseshit on the floor of your own room with a pounding headache and a phone charged to an abysmal one-percent.

_Oh shit_ , his phone. _Betty_.. She knew how much he hated the party scene and was weary of his decision to go, but he promised to keep her updated and let her know when he came back in. But he was realizing now that he never remembered to text her…or did he?

Impatiently he tapped on the homescreen, relieved to see a message from Betty waiting for him to open.

**_Jughead… I’m sorry. But I can’t do this. I can’t fight for someone who doesn’t want to me. Or even love me. I’ll probably always love you but I can’t do this. I’m sorry._ ** ****

His heart stopped and his stomach swooped low, feeling a nausea entirely separate from the copious amounts of alcohol he’d consumed. What was she talking about? Doesn’t want her? Or love her?

Using superhuman speed, he dialed out her number but was met with a message that read “Call Failed” after his numerous attempts (he stopped counting after eleven). He decided to text her instead, but each message came back around him like a boomerang and tauntingly read “Failure to Send”.

He gulped, the pain intensifying in his stomach. She had blocked him, for reasons he still didn’t even understand. Instead, he tried to message her on facebook but a gray icon appeared next to a black-bolded, unclickable version of her name. Her account couldn’t be found on Instagram, her twitter account protected from him, Snapchat blocked completely.

He felt bile rise in his throat as panic seeped throughout his body. Betty Cooper had blocked him out of her life entirely. She was done with him. She’d finally seen through his bullshit and was done with him. She wisened up, realized he was dead weight to her, only dragging her down, he prevented her from getting her schoolwork done, he was a chore, a burden- 

“Dude,” Dilton Doiley commented from his half-asleep haze on his bed, “what the fuck?”

Jughead’s chest felt constricted and it was getting harder for him to breathe. He looked at his hands to find them quaking and he suddenly felt out of control of his own extremities-they were growing number and more tingly with each passing second. Chills racked his body and he felt like he might pass out.

He didn’t understand. What had he done? What pushed Betty off the edge? He scoffed, he couldn’t blame her. A part of him always knew this day would come but he just didn’t think it’d rise out seemingly nowhere.

He took several deep breaths, willing the white-hot panic to subside even in the slightest bit. His phone, still hanging onto that one percent like a prayer, was running snapchat. He didn’t remember trying to view everyone’s stories, but they found him playing out in front of him.  
That’s when he saw it.

A grainy, blurred picture from Toni’s snapchat story. Of him, in a barely-lit room with his head in between Ethel's hands as she firmly planted a kiss on his face. The caption read, “ **BETTY COME COLLECT YO MANS** ”

Wait. What the fuck? That wasn’t-that didn’t happen, did it? Hastily, he swiped into the next story. The same picture from a different angle with slightly better clarity from Cheryl, “Guess everyone wants a piece of emo ass.”

He was sure his heartrate was defying scientifical records and at this point he’d be considered a medical miracle. He wondered if this is what a heart attack felt like, because physically he felt the too-fast drumming underneath his skin, but emotionally he felt a slow, agonizing shattering as the reality of the situation settled over him. 

Tapping into Valerie’s story, it was the same picture, again. This time with only a rolling eye emoji. Reggie, following suit, at the same unflattering moment with the caption, “What happens when Betty forgets to tramp stamp her man”.

He stood up quickly, regretting it as his legs nearly gave out.

_The party was loud, smelly and roughly a million times stickier than the air outside. Jughead wanted to leave, had back to his dorm and leave Betty a drunk voicemail or two._

_God, Betts. He missed her so much. The way she smelled, how soft her pale skin was, her—everything. Fuck, he missed his girlfriend._

_He moved towards the back of the room near the strobe lights, spotting Reggie, Val, Toni and Cheryl. He was about to tell them how he was gonna head back to his dorm, it was just after one am, when Ethel walked over._

_“Jughead!” She screamed, elated._

_They had a few classes together since_ the _incident. They were even partnered up together on a few assignments and were acquaintances. But something about her sent off warning flags in Jughead’s mind-warning him of impending danger._

_Nevertheless, he sent her a small smile, “Hey Ethel—oof!” Drunkenly, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The contact was too warm, sickly warm, even._

_“I’m soooo glad you’re here!” she yelled into his ear, causing him to wince, “You never go out!”_

_Awkwardly, he attempted to disentangle himself from her, “I visit my girlfriend on weekends. Betty, remember?”_

_Ethel rolled her eyes, “Betty? What’s so good about her-”_

_“Okay,” Jughead cut her off, “I’m gonna go now. You smell like a distillery.” He looked over to Toni pleadingly, “Can you make sure she makes it back to her dorm alright?”_

_“You don’t think I’m pretty?” Ethel accused, grabbing his face and turning his attention back to her._

_“Uh,” he looked around to his friends, who were all watching in amusement behind their phones. She was too close for comfort-and he_ hated _people touching him in the first place. Especially if they were Betty. So basically everybody. “I think you’re drunk, Ethel.”_

_“I love it when you say my name,” She giggled before tightening her grip on either side of his face. She swooped in, planting a sloppy, grossly wet kiss on Jugheads lips._

_Vaguely in the back of his vision, Jughead could make out the bright lights of people's phone flashes going off, but that wasn’t what he was focusing on._

_All he knew was that he was about to throw up. The person on him wasn’t Betty. Their lips felt wrong and he was revolted. So he pushed her off of him abruptly._

_“What the fuck Ethel?” He seethed, “If you’re not Betty fucking Cooper then I’m not fucking interested.” His friends cheered him on, booing Ethel as she was escorted away by Toni._

_He had to get out, out of that party in that very instant. He needed to get to Betty. He was going to pack a bag and start walking to New York City right then and there. By the time he reached her, maybe she’d be done with her STDs. Either way, he didn’t care. All he knew was everything felt wrong. His own skin, tarnished. The only one who could fix this, cleanse him and make him feel better was Betty. He wasn’t going to shut her out this time, he was going to find her right now—_

_He halfheartedly threw some socks and his toothbrush into a grocery bag before passing out on his bed._

“Sounds rough man,” Dilton winced as Jughead recounted the tale as his memories came flooding back to him, “But its your own fault.”

“How?” Jughead demanded, offended and narrowing his eyes at the former boyscout. 

“You told her I was too creepy to add on snap,” he accused, prompting a snort of agreement from Jughead, “But if she did, she would’ve seen my story.”

He pulled up his story from that night, fastly clicking though his weird collection of bug pictures he’d taken that day, finally landing on a 10 second video of Jughead shoving Ethel off of him immediately after she kissed him.

Outraged, Jughead grabbed his phone-now dead-and wallet before heading out of the door.

“Send me that video,” he demanded gruffly.

\--

_Bang. Bang. Bang._ A brief pause. _Bang. Bang Bang._ With such force that the cheaply-made college dormitory door nearly came unhinged _Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang._

“Open the _fuck_ up!” Jughead growled out, surprised by the aggression in his own voice. The white board that had messily scrawled “Val and Toni” on it fell off its command hook.

He was about to rap on the door again when Cheryl, in her early morning beauty, wrapped in one of Toni’s sheets, opened the door.

“Get. Out. Now.” She spat out, looking hungover and absolutely livid.

“Not now, _Chucky_ ,” he spat out the insult and stormed into the room, where Val and Toni were blearily willing their eyes open.

Reggie was passed out on the floor. “Great the gangs all fucking here,” He yelled, kicking Reggie in the shoulder with mild force.

 “Ugh what the fuck man,” the athlete gritted out.

“Yeah Jug, what the fuck is going on?” Toni asked, annoyed.

Val yawned obnoxiously.

There were a thousand things he wanted to say. Expletives he wanted to rant out. Curses he wanted to lay on all of them. He was so _angry_. And it was their fault. But in the presence of having to admit it, thereby making it more real, he suddenly felt very small. “Betty broke up with me.” His voice cracked miserably. 

The tone of the room shifted immediately, from discomfort and anger to concern and empathy.

“What? No, Jughead, what happened?”

“There’s no way-”

“Are you serious?”

“Am I serious?” Jughead laughed rhetorically, “Of course I’m fucking _serious_ Reggie. She must’ve seen what you fucking assholes put on your snapchat stories last night and…and this morning she texted me telling me that it’s over.”

An uneasy silence came across the room like a judges gavel smacking down on an oak table. They all looked to each other awkwardly, avoiding the stare of Jughead.

“What’d you say?” Toni was the first to speak up.

Another bitter laugh bubbled in his throat and spilled over, “Nothing. I couldn’t. She _blocked me_ on everything. I couldn’t contact her even if I wanted to.”

“Jughead,” it was Cheryl who said something, thoroughly shocking the rest of the group, “I’m-we-we’re so sorry. If there’s anything we can do-”

“I don’t know Cheryl,” he cut her off through gritted teeth, “Can you build a fucking time machine and undo all of the damage you all did yesterday?”

She opened her mouth to say something but shut it quickly. He turned his gaze to everyone around the room, all of them refusing to send a glance his way.

“Thought so,” he sighed, shaking his head. “You know what? I-I can’t do this,” he shook his head at the group, “Fuck you guys. Do yourselves a favor and lose my number.”

They cried and called after him but it fell on deaf ears. He stalked down the hallway, chest heavy with the loss. He hadn’t lost _just_ Betty, he’d lost everyone. Archie and Veronica too, he assumed they’d want nothing to do with him now.

For the first time since he and Betty started dating, he felt alone. He supposed it was a feeling he was going to have to get used to from now on. He was born alone and he might as well fucking die alone too. 

\--

Betty scrubbed and scrubbed and _scrubbed_ but her skin still felt dirty and covered in _wrongness_. She sighed, putting the bright pink loofah back on it’s hook  and opting for the light graze of her nails on her skin instead. Lathering herself up with her vanilla bodywash, she cleaned herself until her skin was angry bright red _everywhere_. Only retiring out of the shower when invasive thoughts ethched their way into her brain, threatening to bring back the void of pain into her stomach from the events of last night.

Part of her wanted to stay in the shower for the next eternity or two, as the surrounding and steady warmth was the only thing that kept her chills away. Tenatively stepping out of the shower room in nothing but a towel was more unwelcoming than normal. She stepped over to the mirror, tentatively poking at the puffy cushions under her eyes, hoping the cool touch of her fingers might back them decrease in size.

Deciding she didn’t like looking at her eyes or the way her skin pronounced the angry scratches now that she was out of the heat of the shower, she abruptly turned into her single room to get dressed. Part of her wanted to dress comfy-after breaking up with her boyfriend of nearly three years, she deserved at lease some _comfort_ -but a part of her refused the idea. She couldn’t this _ruin_ her, now could she? If her mother were here, she wouldn’t allow Betty the privilege of sulking. Instead she’d throw her daughter a pair of skinny jeans with an expectant stare before asking, “ _You don’t want to give that miscreant boy_ that _much power over you, do you?”_

She knew the correct answer to that question and knew that she did have a busy weekend to prepare for-there was no time in her schedule for an impromptu pity party. She had to do better. She had to _be_ better. She could never get below a B on anything again, could never hear her mother say those awful things about her again-so she wouldn’t. She was going to be perfect. Dedicate every ounce of her time to her academics, to STD, to every relevant extraciricular-she was going to do _it_ , no matter the cost.

And so she threw on a light blue blouse and a pair of white jeans, combing through her hair lightly before applying a minimal amount of makeup to make it look like she _hadn’t_ spent the past night crying about a boy who never loved her (because, how could you cheat on someone you loved?) Betty spared more than a glance at the pill bottle that lined her dresser. Her mother expected her to take all of her medications, every day. She hadn’t been since she got to college, only dumping them out and refilling them regularly to keep Alice from growing suspicious. But today she decided that maybe her mother was right (after all, she was right about _him_ ) and promptly swallowed every pill with the absence of water. She walked through the joint kitchen, about to blow dry her hair when she ran into her suitemate, Sabrina.

“You look nice,” the other blonde commented, surprised.

Electing to grab a quick cup of coffee, Betty sidestepped towards the Keurig. “Thanks.”

“Especially for someone who-” _Got cheated on by her boyfriend_ “Went through what you went through last night.” 

As the small, bright blue machine dispensed the coffee, Betty looked over her shoulder to send Sabrina a disparaging look, “I don’t want to talk about it. I have too much stuff to do today.”

“Al _riiiight_ ,” Sabrina hummed lowly, letting Betty pour the cream and sugar into her cup in peace.

When the former headed into the bathroom, Sabrina called out, “Betty?”

So quickly she almost spilled  her coffee, Betty whipped around, “Yeah?”

“You’re allowed to be, uh, sad, you know.”

It was an odd thing to say, so much so that it caught Betty off guard. Giving her suitemate a weird look, she responded, “Uh, thanks for the permission. But I’m fine.”

She wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all herself. After finishing her coffee, drying and styling her hair into her signature ponytail, she was ready to head out the door. She grabbed her purse, keys, laptop, student ID, but then gave pause, staring at her nightstand.

Her phone layed there expectantly. Betty knew she should grab it. What if there was a family emergency? What if Sabrina needed to call her? But…she knew herself better than anyone else, she knew carrying her phone around would only lead her to feeling a constant pit of despair all day.

Despite cutting _him_ off entirely, she’d still expect to hear something from him. She’d have brief lapses in her memory when she’d forget what happened, much like this morning. So she knew that whenever her phone lit up throughout the day, she’d be naiive enough to hope that it was him contacting her, like he always did. She didn’t trust herself.

She was at mental war when she just decided to pull it from it’s charger. Like an omen, it vibrated obnoxiously in her hand, with an unknown number popping up in a series of text messages. Betty bit her lip nervously, thumb hovering over the home button while she debated wheter or not to open it. But her phone kept buzzing, a new text message lighting up the screen every other second.

She wondered who it could be, trying to message her with such urgency. Betty had blocked all of Jughead’s friends as well, so it couldn’t have been any of them. 

Taking the plunge, she rested her thumb on the home button, anxiety building in her stomach as her most recent texts opened up.

The first message was a video, the thumbnail almost made Betty stop reading altogether and block the number. It was similar to the picture she’d seen so many times last night, replaying in her mind long after she blocked all of the snapchat stories.

Who was sending her this? And why were they being so cruel, why force her to relive the moment? Why should she watch the video when the picture had said more than enough?

Suddenly, her phone scrolled down to the end of the text chain, still recieiving incoming messages.

**_Betty._ **

**_Betty. HELLO._ **

**_Please watch it. Please Please please._ **

**_Hey sweet thang ;) Bet Jughead regrets not giving you my number now, huh?_ **

**_Sorry this is Diltons phone. Part of the bargain was that he could send ONE text._ **

**_This is Toni by the way._ **

**_And Cheryl!_ **

**_And Val, and Reggie._ **

**_Anyway, please watch this video._ **

**_Don’t block us out._ **

**_Please._ **

**_We’re so sorry._ **

**_Yeah, so sorry Betty._ **

**_This is all our fault._ ** ****

All messages of the same vernacular and from the same number, Dilton’s, continued to flood her phone. She was confused-she didn’t know who was texting what or who was apologizing for what. She was partially not angry with them for posting the kiss to their snapchat stories, because part of herself is glad she found out before…whatever Jughead and the redhead had…could continue behind her back and make her look more like a fool…

She scrolled to the top of the chat, clicked on the video and pressed play, heart hammering wildly in her chest. She inhaled as the scene, ingrained in her brain, played out. Some curly-redhead with her lips on Ju- _him_ and he leans in and…

Wait, what? 

Her eyes widened as she watched Jughead push her off of him instantly. 

  ** _“If you’re not Betty fucking Cooper then I’m not fucking interested.”_**

In sheer disbelief, she rewinded the video and played it again. There was no way—

**_“If you’re not Betty fucking Cooper then I’m not fucking interested.”_ **

But—she thought. _No_ , her mind corrected her, _you assumed like an_ idiot. 

A wave of sheer relief washed over her. He, Jughead, hadn’t cheated on her. It suddenly became much clearer-why would he? He would never… 

But still, she assumed that he had. She broke up with him. She blocked him out. She purposely left him no way of contacting her. 

But it turned out she was the one who had fucked it up, ruined everything, not him.

Hastily, she made quick work of unblocking all of them and readding them. She called Jughead’s phone multiple times, each time it went directly to voicemail. Now _he_ was ignoring _her_. And, goddammit he had every right to.

She was going to fix this, though. She had to. She’d get on the next train to Boston and she’d storm across the quad like she did all those months ago—but what if he didn’t want to see her? What if he was secretly relieved she ended things? Why would he want to hear anything from her now, after she’d taken his heart, his trust, and smashed it? She didn’t even let him try to explain himself.

What the fuck was wrong with her? She felt hot, fresh tears springing to her eyes. She fucked up. Big time. But she had to go to him, she _had_ to fix it. If he’d just let her…

Quickly, she dialed Diltons number, relieved to hear Toni’s voice who picked up instead of Dilton. 

“Betty?” Her voice was rushed and equally relieved. She heard a lot of shuffling on the other end, muffled voices asking if it was really Betty calling.

“No Dilton-you can’t have your fucking phone back dude,” Toni spat out angrily, “This isn’t about you!”

Betty’s voice was shaky as the tears fell freely down her face, “W-where is he?”

There was silence on the other end, “I don’t know,” Toni sighed, “We’re in his room now. And if he isn’t in his room I’m not sure where he could be.”

“Do you think he’s on campus?” Betty tried to restrain her tears and sound as even as possible.

“His wallet isn’t here,” She heard Dilton call out.

“How do you know what his wallet looks like dude?” Reggie asked wearily.

“Th-that’s it. I’m coming up there, I should be there in a few hours if you guys can find him-” 

“I don’t know that’s such a good idea hun,” Val’s voice was clearer now, “We don’t even know if he’s here.” 

“So what?” Betty asked, a bit too angry, “I can’t help look for him now?” 

“What’s the point in you coming up here if he isn’t here, Betty?” Cheryl piped in, sounding the least concerned out of all of them. 

“Well where else would he be?” She asked.

More silence on the other end. “We’ll look. And we’ll get back to you if we find anything-”

“What am I supposed to do?” Betty asked helplessly, “Just sit around here and wait for you guys to update me? I have to find him-I have to find him _now_ and I have to fix th-th-this,” she hiccupped, losing her composure and letting the sobs wrack her body like a puppet on strings. 

Cheryl’s voice was on the other end again, “Listen Betty, it’s okay. We’re going to fix this, okay?” 

“We’re sorry,” Toni said awkwardly, they all felt at fault for the mess.

Betty Cooper, the perfect girl next door, the nicest girl of her graduating class, the most forgiving, the most polite-didn’t know what to say. She’d run out of words. She knew this was all her fault, but maybe they shouldn’t have put it on their snapchat stories in the first place, anyway. 

Her heart sank, “Just let me know If you find anything.” She pressed the end button, placing her phone down on the night stand and only then realizing how badly her hands were shaking.

 She dug her palms into her eyes as she let herself finally cry freely-slowly sliding down against her bed as her sobs ripped through her. She could barely catch her breath between each sob, the lack of air ripping painfully in her chest.

 God. What an _idiot_ she was. Maybe her mother was right, maybe her professor was right-right about everything. She wasn’t good enough to be a journalist, it was nothing less ridiculous than her original childhood dream of being a ballerina. She wasn’t even good enough or smart enough to _be_ at a school like NYU-how she even managed to get into an honor society in the first place was beyond her because-because, was there anything she _couldn’t_ fuck up?

She couldn’t _just_ see the pictures of last night and wait to talk to Jughead about it. No, she just had to jump the gun, didn’t she? And she couldn’t _just_ break up with him, of course not, she had to cut him off completely and not give him a chance to explain himself. She thought…she believed that if she let him explain himself to her, she’d just be allowing herself to believe whatever lie he’d conjured up to get himself out of trouble. If she didn’t block him out, she believed he’d convince her that it was _fine_ that he’d cheated on her and she’d just have to deal with it… 

But that wasn’t Jughead at all. He’d never do that to her. He’d never manipulate her or hurt her like that in the first place. She projected her fears of the manipulation of her mother, the anxiety of her academics onto him. And while she thought she was erecting walls around her heart by blocking him to protect herself, she was only isolating herself from the truth.

Sabrina rushed in, asking what was wrong, what could have possibly happened, and Betty just pitifully shook her head and clasped her knees to her chest, resting her forehead between them. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were forming a ghostly white color,  long, manicured nails piercing the sensitive, bruised flesh that had already suffered enough abuse from the past two weeks.

Her suitemates arms were around her in a second, attempting to soothe her and tell her it would all be okay, but Betty was inconsolable.

\--

Hours had passed since she watched the video and learned the truth. She was coaxed onto her bed with a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea and Sabrina gently left her door open just a crack to give her space.

Betty laid with her head on the pillow, certain that she’d cried herself out. Her tea had long run cold and the only updates she received from Jughead’s friends were that he was nowhere to be found on campus.

Her stomach churned with hunger but the thought of getting out of bed or even _considering_ food made her feel dangerously close to vomiting. Four identical splotches of dried blood were caked in similar places on both of her hands. 

She didn’t know _where_ he could be. She thought she knew him like the back of her hand, but she never thought this situation through in her head. He could be… _anywhere_. Boston University was a big school and Jughead could be fairly elusive when he wanted to be. 

She _knew_ him, she may not be familiar with the school but she felt that her hearts compass could guide her to where he might be retreating. His friends were smart and caring, but they didn’t know him like she did. They didn’t know that _maybe_ sulking in the corner of the library on the bottom floor seemed like the ‘Jughead’ thing to do, it was far more likely he was hiding out in the opposite end of campus in an unused study room. 

Or maybe he was in the city of Boston somewhere. Licking his wounds in a quiet coffee shop. Or wandering around a run-down supermarket, or hanging out by a river or somewhere that’d remind him of home. 

He could be in Riverdale. The thought jolted her quickly, but she wasn’t sure what purpose he’d have in going there. FP was still in jail, relocated to a penitentiary in Pennsylvannia-maybe that’s where he’d gone. To visit his dad. 

Or to Toledo. He didn’t care so much for Gladys, but maybe he needed to see his sister, the one who looked at him like he put the moon and the stars in the sky for her. The one person who’d never stop looking up to him…never stop believing in him. 

She used to be able to count herself on that list too. With a heavy sigh, she uncurled her hands and held the bloody mess in front of her face. Perhaps, she reckoned, she should wash them off, but her body wanted to remain heavy like a stone. 

A chill ran through her body and her chest heaved, she sat upright with her legs dangling over the bed. _Stupid little girl_ , a voice rang out in her head. It was one she hadn’t heard in a while, the tone sounding almost unfamiliar to her. _You threw out the one good thing in your life, didn’t you?_  

She shook her head in denial, before checking her phone with concern. Still no messages. No updates. Her stomach plunged. _He’s not coming back_. _He’s never coming back_.

Betty still isn’t sure what came over her last night. Running her finger over the crusted scars on her palm, she remembers how it felt when she opened Toni’s snapchat and saw the unthinkable.

It made sense to her at first. She’d been pushing him away for weeks. He was lonely. _She_ made him feel lonely. She was so bad at budgeting her time, wasting too much time into making every detail perfect, that she pushed him away. He needed her, and she wasn’t there. She was being selfish. She deserved it. 

And then it all faded to anger. Maybe she’d pushed him away, but how many times had he done the same to her? Everytime he pushed her away, she pushed back. She fought for him. And would he ever fight for her? No. Instead he’d find comfort in someone else, because that was easier than just _reaching_  out to her and telling her how he felt. It was the cowards way out. 

It was the worst ending to the worst week she had in a long time. The C on her midterm. Her mothers callous words. She hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell Jughead but Polly had called her too, having a breakdown over the phone about how she couldn’t do it-she couldn’t raise twins by herself. Betty’s heart panged, feeling helpless.

Everything made her regret leaving Riverdale. If she stayed there, she could have gone through all four years of college for free, she had a fullride to the community college. She could help with the twins, her mother would be off her back because she’d ace all of her courses… 

She was an idiot, she never felt more stupid in her entire life. When she saw the photo, saw the person closest to her heart betraying her the most, she didn’t even think. Her defense mechanisms kicked in, trying to cut off the pain and keep the emotional wound as contained as possible. Her fight or flight responses kicked in….and, feeling unwanted, she choose flight.

_And now you’re all alone_. _Stupid girl_. Her heart was racing, reliving her mistake once more.

_He’s better off without you anyway. Everyone is._

“Shut up!” Abruptly, in a rush, she snapped, grabbing her phone that was laying innocently on her nightstand chucking it at the wall. She stood up and screamed at the wall, trying to reach the voice inside her head, her very self. She was shaking again, looking around the room as tears clouded her vision. She was frustrated at herself, alternating between clawing at her own skin and repriercing the wounds on her palms.

Upon hearing a light knock on the door, she croaked out, “Not now Sabrina, I don’t wanna talk.”

“What if I’m not Sabrina?” A low, steady voice asked from the doorway.

Betty knew that voice, better than her own. She whipped around to see Jughead cautiously leaning against the door frame. 

\--

“J-Jug?” Betty’s voice called out hoarsely.

It’d been the longest five sum hours of his life, but he had to see her. He had to talk to her in person. Even if she hated him or wanted nothing more to do with him, he had to see her in person. He had to fight for her.

And now, one incredibly long bus ride later, and he was here. In her room.  The traffic was loud outside, but it all faded to background noise. She looked beautiful, she always did, a constant picture of grace. But he saw the puffiness around her tired eyes, the looseness of her ponytail, her balled up fists.

He hated that he did this to her. He was the one that caused her all of this pain and he wanted desparately to make it right, explain himself, if she’d let him.

“The one and only,” he responded with a tight smile, hoping it’d cut some of the tension in the room. But it only seemed to upset her further.

He watched as a frown pulled at her lips, tears pooling in her bright green eyes. She tried to collect herself before speaking, “Jughead, I-”

“Please,” he intervened, desperation apparent in his voice. “Let me explain. Just give me a few minutes, hear me out, and if you really want…I’ll leave. And I won’t bother you again.”

“Y-you-you don’t,” Her voice was unsteady and he watched as her chest heaved erratically.

“Betty,” He breathed out, “I’m begging you.”

She tried to say something but his eyes pleaded with her agan and she relented.

“Betts, I’m…I’m so _sorry_ ,” He began, “I…you don’t, you don’t have to believe me. But I don’t have any feelings for her, at all. I barely even _know_ her. And, there’s uh, there’s a video of me pushing her away,” he flailed a bit helplessly, fishing his phone out of his pocket, “But, but my phone is dead. If I can run out and charge it quick I could show you but…” 

He took a deep, steadying breath. That was the easy part, trying to explain himself…he had an airtight alibi after all, “None of that matters. Because I know how stressed you’ve been these past two weeks. I know how it’s all getting to you. You…you’re so strong Betts. You’re _so_ strong, the strongest person I know.

“But sometimes, life sucks, believe me, been there, done that, wrote the fucking book,” he laughed bitterly, “And sometimes the best fall down. And you’re allowed to fall, Betty. You’re allowed to be hurt and feel stressed out. Because this is your future, all of this,” he gestured to her room, the surrounding city, “Is what you worked _so_ damn hard for. And I don’t give a shit what some professor says, and neither should you. Whatever Dr. Stickuphisass or Alice freaking Cooper have to stay-it isn’t true. You know it isn’t. 

“And its my fault too,” he admitted, feeling his veins run colder with the knowledge that he’d let her down too, “You haven’t been okay. You’ve been dealing with so much stuff..and I was selfish. I should’ve come down here, I should’ve _seen_ you. I should’ve _been_ there to reassure you, hold your hand and tell you the truth; that everything was going to be okay. That you _are_ going to be a journalist, a damn good one too. That you’re destined to do so many great things. Because you’re Betty _fucking_ Cooper.”

Daringly, he took a step forward and evaluated her. Silent tears were falling down her face and she was shaking her head, chest continuing to rise and fall irregularly. She wasn’t screaming at him or telling him to go, so he continued.

“And if you _really_ want me to go, I will. But not without a fight, Betty. Because you never let me just cut myself off from you—and I love you too much to watch you do the same. Last night was shitty, and the whole time I wished I had just spent it with you instead, staying in and skyping with you, watching Netflix together. But…I…the reality is there’s only one person out there for me. And it’s you, Betty, it’s only _ever_ been you. I’m not a betting man but if I was, I’d say it’ll _always_ be you.” Another step forward.

“You’re the only one for me. You’re the one I’m thinking about all the time and even after three years, I still can’t get you out of my head. I used to think, maybe it was just a crush, maybe I just wanted you because I knew I could never have you,” he admitted softly, voice cracking just a bit. The door shut softly behind him. “But then I kissed you…and it’s been a dream come true ever since. So there is no one else, least of all Ethel Muggs. There could never be anyone else.

“I would _never_ cheat on you,” he promised, “Not in a million years. Because you’re just-you’re _you_. And you’re so damn special, Betts, I can’t believe how lucky I am most of the time.” They were an arms length apart and her eyes were downcast. Her hands were still wrapped into fists when he dared to say, “And I…I think you know that. You know I’d never cheat on you. Which is how I know something else _has_ to be wrong and I’m here. I’m here for you and I’m not going anywhere.”

He ended his spiel and finally caught his breath. The frame of her shoulders was shaking and he wanted to pull her to him, but thought better of it. He wanted her to have the option-she could still kick him out if she wanted and he didn’t want to overwhelm her.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before he noticing that she was far past crying- she was sobbing. She sucked in a big breath, only to sputter and sob, quickly gasping out another, insufficient breath. Betty swayed a bit, finally crouching down and leaning against the nightstand from the floor. Her knees were pulled to her chest again, hands starting at her temples and pushing back through her hair until they clasped behind her head.

Concerned, he knelt down in front of her, “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he tried to comfort her, placing a hand on her shoulder and _shit_ did she feel cold.

He wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and hold her until she stopped crying, but still was unsure of what she wanted, and that was what mattered most.

“Ev-everything is suh-so,” she hiccupped inbetween sobs, “So wrong. I’m so-sorry.” Betty was having difficutly forming the words through her emotions, choking on every syllable.

“You’re not the one that has anything to be sorry for,” he stated plainly in hopes to bring her some comfort, but it only distressed her futher. She shook her head vehemently.  
“I…I don’t, d-deserve you,” she gasped out brokenly, “You-your roommate, sent me the vid-video.” 

He inwardly cringed at the thought of Dilton now having a means of communicating with Betty, but decided to deal with that later.

“It’s all my fa-fault,” she carried on, heels of her palms digging into her eyes, “I’m so, sorry.”

He leaned in closer to her, “Betty, look at me,” asked gently, but she shook her head in denial. He reached out his forefinger and his thumb and placed them gently under her chin, “Betty, please, look at me.” He gave the slightest nudge and she looked up at him, eyes swollen with tears. 

“Betts,” he whispered, looking intently into her eyes, “It’s okay. You have nothing to be sorry for—wait, is that blood?” his thoughts trailed off, noticing the smearing of blood at the top of her head where her hands were earlier.

Face hot with embarrassment, she tried to wipe it away with her hands, only making the situation worse by smearing more blood further. Recognizing the source, he grabbed her hands by the wrist and flipped them over, exposing the abused underbelly.

“Holy shit,” he said, winded and stomach flipping with guilt. The crescents carved in her skin were scarred and bruised, the worst he’s seen them in a long time.

“You-you can go,” she spoke quietly, “I know…this Is crazy and I’m just _crazy_.” She tried to pull her hands away from him but he held them firmly in place.

He looked at her with a subtle ferocity in his eyes, “You’re _not_ crazy, Betty. And I’m not going anywhere.”

She bit her lip, wanting to argue or dismiss him further, he’d imagine, but instead she remained silent.

“Is your first aid kit in the bathroom?” He asked softly, eyes looking towards hers but she kept her gaze firm on the floor.

“Yes, but…” she sighed, sobs finally subsiding, “I don’t…I don’t want to deal with this right now. I want to talk, to you. About everything. Because I’m so sorry, Jughead. I don’t think you understand, I don’t deserve you, and I don’t want you to go but if I were you, I’d run for the hills.” 

“No you wouldn’t,” he denied with a huff, “You’d never turn your back on anyone. I know you. And I also know that you’re _bleeding_ for fucks sake.” She flinched at the harshness of his words before he could send her an apologetic look. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and then we can talk. I promise.” 

She nodded and reminded him where the first aid kit was. He returned with a warm wash cloth and the kit, using the cloth and few wipes to get rid of the blood that had caked around the center of the incisions.

He was focused and worked silently. She closed her eyes as he sprayed a disinfectant over both of her hands, before laying up an anti-bacterial gel and wrapping them up in large band aids. He used the cloth to wipe off some of the blood that was on her forehead and gently removed the hair tye from her hair, making sure to get out any blood that had collected there as well. He massasged her scalp a bit, reliving some of the tension there before returning the items back to the bathroom and throwing the wash cloth into the laundry bin.

“You’re shaking,” he observed. 

She sighed, “’S cold,” she mumbled out, accepting his extended hand and hositing herself up off the ground. He walked over to her dresser and grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of sweats and handed it to her. 

Jughead turned his back as she changed, respectfully. All of the times he’d seen and appreciated her nakedness, he still knew the lines and boundaries. 

 Once she was changed, he asked, “Do you want to lay down?”

When she nodded, he guided her still shaking form to the bed and wrapped a blanket around her before she laid down. He slid in next to her and was surprised when she immediately cuddled up against his side, needing to feel him close to her. He smiled at the warmth of her body next to hers. 

They laid like that for quite some time, with Betty laid against his chest as he rubbed small, soothing circles on her back. 

“I’m crazy,” she spoke softly, breaking the silence. 

He turned his head to look at her, “You’re the sanest person I know, Betty.”

“Then you’re pretty screwed,” the self-depreciating comment fell out of her mouth instantly. They both let out a small chuckle, and Jughead could see some of the tension leave her shoulders. 

“I’m-I’m serious,” she said, “I should’ve talked to you, I don’t know what came over me, I just-”

He could feel her getting worked up again and he brought his hand up to lightly stroke her cheek, “I know. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” she argued, shaking her head, “I…I _hurt_ you, Jughead, how is that okay?”

“Everyone makes mistakes,” he supplied plainly, “You’re not _perfect_ , Betty, and you don’t have to be.”

That struck a chord within her and she looked up at him with wide eyes. He stated the obvious, a fact that the _good_ Betty knew but easily forgot. It was something she needed reminding of.

“I shouldn’t have overreacted, I should have talked to you first, I should have done… _anything_ else,” she was still beating herself up over it and he placed a small kiss on her forehead.

“Overreacted?” He scoffed, “Maybe blocking me was a _bit_ too far, but the evidence against me was pretty damning.”

If she heard his words she did little to acknowledge them, “I was worried…I was so worried that you were just _gone_ , Jug. That I pushed you away, so far that you wouldn’t ever come back.”

“Highly unlikely,” he said in between her pause, “The odds of me going anywhere without you are slim to none.”

It was like speaking to a brick wall, “I figured you’d obviously talk to your friends again. But you’d never accept my calls or respond to my texts. You’d tell them you were over me, relieved even, and then they’d ignore me too. It’d be like-like we never happened. Like we were never together-”

“Betty, are you listening to me?” he turned her to face him. She was crying, again, and gently he grabbed her hands to uncurl them. Her fingernails were already making dents into the bandaging.

Her watery green eyes looked up at him, “I’m so sorry, Jughead.”

“It’s okay,” he promised, “I forgive you, okay Betty? You don’t need to beat yourself up over this, you have to be kinder to yourself.”

“It’s just…the past fews have been so _shitty_ ,” she feels like it’s a crap explanation, but it’s the truth. Mentally, she’d been so strung out.

His left hand cradled her face, thumb wiping away the delicate tears. “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I wasn’t _there_ when I should’ve been.”

“You were busy-” she wanted to justify his actions already.

“I know, but I could’ve been there for you _more_ , and I’m sorry I wasn’t and I’m sorry that my friends are so _shitty_ ,” They both laughed a little at that. 

“I forgive you,” her breathing was calm again, regular. 

“We’re good?” He asked and she rolled her eyes. 

“If you wanna be boyfriend again,” she looked up at him with an impish grin, but there’s something serious lingering underneath, giving him one more chance to get up and leave, “then sure.” 

“I never stopped,” he smirked, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers and he can feel all of the tension leave his body. Her lips are as soft as ever and he inhales deeply-finally smelling _her_ -the warm vanilla scent of her perfume, the fruity scent of her hair. 

She deepened the kiss before abruptly breaking apart from him, a loss he felt immediately. Her mood had shifted, brightening a bit and a playful look danced across her eyes. “Juggy,” she called out to him, a sultry tone laced over her words. 

“What?” he asked, bemused and lost in her eyes. 

“I missed you,” her voice was soft again, a little serious in the way she looked at him. 

“I missed you too-” he was cut off by Betty suddenly climbing on top of him, legs staddling his chest as she leans down on her elbows above his face. 

“I _really_ missed you.”

“I can tell,” he reaches up to brush a few dangling hairs out of her face before repeating her tone, “I _really_ missed you too.”

And then her lips were on his again, hips sliding down when-

**_BANG._** Her dorm room door flies open, and Betty, still in her rather compromising position on top of Jughead, quickly whips her head around to the source of the interruption. Jughead, equally concerned, propted himself up on his elbows. 

It was Toni and Cheryl. And Reggie and Val. And, goddammit, _Dilton Doiley_? Reggie and Toni yelled in unison as they barreled through the door, “ ** _Betty!_** We know where he is—he’s in Citrusville!” 

An awkward pause of silence ensued. “Not exactly,” Jughead commented from behind Betty. 

His friend, _their_ friends, stare at them with wide eyes and open mouths. They all look surprised, save for Cheryl. 

“I fucking told you idiots he’d be here,” She gritted out dryly, “But god forbid we listen to reason!” 

“Thank fucking God!” Reggie cried out next, walking towards the couple with his arms open. “We were like worried and stuff, guys!” 

“It’s okay Reggie-” Betty wanted to say when suddenly personal boundaries were thrown to the wind and Reggie’s on the bed hugging the both of them. Val joined in next, followed by Cheryl (shockingly) and Toni who apologized profusely for the groups actions. 

“It’s fine guys, really,” Betty said with restricted air, they’re hugging her too tight but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“It’d be _more_ fine if you gave us some space,” Jughead lamented at what his friends _rudely_ interrupted.

“Aw hell,” Dilton’s squeaky voice broke through, “I want in on this group hug!”

He reached out and approached the group when they all broke apart from each other to say, “No Dilton!”

Laughter filled the room quickly and the group began talking about their “epic journey” into New York, their mad rush to find Betty in time-and Jughead slung his arm around Betty's shoulder. She leaned into him, smiling as their friends continued their tale. They were both finally where they belonged, by each others side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was faaaar angstier than i anticipated? hopefully the ending made up for it! a lot of people were interested in a continuation of the first part but i maaaay have taken things in a slightly different direction. if you're interested in more in this 'verse lmk!
> 
> comments are always appreciated and as always you can find me at @aswellingstorm.tumblr.com, avoiding my responsibilities forever

**Author's Note:**

> me????>??? being irresponsible?? not doing my homework??? or updating my other fics (new update soon??))??? or fulfilling the prompt my girl juggiexjuliet left in my askbox weeks ago???? self control??? can't relate
> 
> anyway follow me on tumblr for more shenanigans @ aswellingstorm.tumblr.com


End file.
